Research In No Motion: Who's Left to Buy RIM?

Research In Motion could be up for sale, but with the usual names unlikely to make a bid for the entire company, where does RIM go?

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Research In Motion ( RIMM) CEO Thorsten Heins wants to fix the beleaguered handset maker, but would not rule out a potential sale during the company's fourth-quarter conference call. The big question, though, is who would buy the struggling BlackBerry maker?

RIM posted non-GAAP earnings of 80 cents per share on $4.2 billion in revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for a profit of 81 cents a share on revenue of $4.5 billion.

In a research note to investors, Raymond James analyst Steven Li noted that Heins has not ruled out the possibility of a sale as part of the company's strategic review. The RIM CEO also mentioned leveraging the BlackBerry platform through partnerships, licensing opportunities, and strategic business model alternatives. Li lowered his price target to $15 following the earnings report, but said that the company could be worth $19 to $20 a share if a takeout happened. He rates shares "market perform."

The problem with the takeout scenario, according to a hedge fund analyst, who declined to be named, is that there don't appear to be any publicly-traded companies eager to buy RIM. "I'm not sure there is an acquirer out there who has the strength/position to really enable them to right themselves," he said. "I think Microsoft ( MSFT) made their bet, by partnering with Nokia ( NOK) and it's too late for them - I think Nokia and Microsoft have put too much into their own system by now."